Been a while

Well, it's been a long time since my last post and inevitably gives the impression that not much has happened. This isn't the case. Since Christmas the book has come on at greater pace. The aim is to have a fully completed draft for December and this is starting to look realistic.

The writing has inevitably led to little to report on here as all the information is nolonger new to me and I get less excited by it than if I have just found it. There are occassional realisations and being reminded of things that I'd forgotten.

I know this book has taken too long to write. Most other people would be able to knock the thing together in a year or two. But the truth is that there is so much information that we need to do justice to Fred and Victorian football.

I should be doing a final trip to London during the summer to complete a little bit of research. I have also been bulding up my collection of Cigarette cards for the book. The intention has always been to heavily illustrate the book and to put as many faces to names as possible. People seem to like cigarette cards so hopefully they will enjoy seeing them in the book. I was really pleased to get hold of a card of Nicol, the Bradford player who broke 2 of Freds ribs with a diliberately poor challenge.

My most recent purchase was a card of Jack Earp, the Wednesday captain in 1896 FA Cup Final. It is a very rare card printed in 1897. I have never seen a card from this set ever before. Catalogue price was £85 but you can pick cards up cheaper these days with ebay so I got it a lot cheaper than this.

I also bought my first Baines card. I have always wanted one, although I have never seen one for sale for any of the teams that Fred Played for. Actually, this isn't quite true. The Glossop one went for too much money and the Sheffield Wednesday one wasn't that good and dated after Fred had left the club, picturing a player Fred never played with. Gainsborough Trinity is the one I am after. The one I bought was for Lincoln City. During Fred's time at Gainsborough Trinity there were many local battles with City and this Baines Card will slot in nicely there.

With regards to the writing. All England International chapters have been written now with the excelption of the Billy Meradith Wales match in 1898. All the FA Cup 1896 run has been written apart from the Final. The final is a massive task, far too much research that needs sifting through.

Leeds City Cahpter is written and Southern United is nearly complete pending final research in the summer. Most of Gainsborough Trinity and early days is written. Left to do is the 2nd Division Championship winning season, some of 1903, Most of Fred's coaching carear, English League Representative matches, And then finally, his later life. Obviously the coaching and later life research is thinner and shouldn't take as long as what has already been wirtten.

There will also be a section about significant people fred played with, a reference section at the back where pen pictures will be for the players that we have come to love whilst reading about Fred, as mentioned in previous posts.